February 18, 2009

Children get first mobile phone at average age of eight

Eight is the average age at which children are given their first mobile phone, according to a survey, reports UK's Telegraph.

More than a third of children (35 per cent) own a mobile by the time they are that age, the charity Personal Finance Education Group (pfeg) discovered.

Its survey also found that three-quarters of all children aged seven to 15 owned "at least" one mobile.

The charity's survey highlighted how early children now become financially aware – with peer pressure forcing them to get to grips with money to afford mobile phone ringtones, call costs and computer games.

It found that children as young as seven were offering to do chores in exchange for cash to buy ringtones.